This essay reviews two recent articles concerning sustainable agriculture. The first is a joint article published in the August 2002 issue of Nature from David Tilman, Kenneth G. Cassman, Pamela A. Matson, Rosamond Naylor, and & Stephen Polasky. In this article, the authors assert a warning call for scientists and policy makers alike with the knowledge that global demand for food will double in 50 years ( Tilman, Cassman, Matson Naylor| & Polasky 674). The authors call for increased attention on sustainable agriculture in order to gain maximum utility and efficiency from the land in a way that promotes land useability and does not destroy it. A second article from a group of researchers at the University of Vermont emphasizes connecting agriculture to the agri-food movements reemphasizes the growing concern by science experts on food demand. These researchers endorse science to look more seriously at growing social movements in agri-food as a cause for good policy as well as social justice ( Fernandez, Olson, Gooddall and Mendez 115-7).
Both articles bear reflection on the crucial importance agriculture plays in our life because food sustains life on earth. Public policy officials should attune themselves to this inevitability and consider the proper checks needed in order deal with this reality. and the services they provide to society. As demands on the earth become greater, agriculturalists will have increased power to shape the Earth and our access to use-able areas of land over the next years. Public policy officials should attune themselves to this inevitability and consider the proper checks and balances that can be put in place in order deal with this reality. New ways of ensuring the sustainability of agriculture and ecosystem services are urgent and will be indispensable for environment and public health.
Works Cited
Fernandez, Margarita, Goodall, Katherine, Olson, Meryl and Ernest V. Mendez. "Agroecology and alternative agri-food movements in the United States: Toward a sustainable agri-food system."Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 37.1 (2013): 115-126.
Tilman, David, Cassman, Kenneth G., Matson, Pamela, Naylor|, Rosamond, & Stephen Polasky "Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices." Nature 418.6898 (2002): 671-677.
